would have killed

USAGE SUMMARY

"would have killed" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to something that could have happened in the past, but did not. For example: If she had not been wearing a helmet, the impact of the crash would have killed her.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

It would have killed him.

The New Yorker

"They would have killed us!

The New York Times

"They would have killed it".

The New York Times

"It would have killed him immediately".

The New York Times - Science

"She would have killed him," he said.

The New York Times

I would have killed myself.

The Telegraph

They would have killed him.

The New York Times - Magazine

I would have killed him".

The New York Times

"He would have killed me".

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Which would have killed you".

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Hurricane Maria would have killed my mother.

The Guardian - Opinion

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "would have killed" to express a hypothetical situation in the past where death was a potential outcome but did not occur. For example, "If the doctor hadn't intervened, the illness "would have killed" him."

Common error

Avoid using "would have killed" when referring to something that definitively caused a death. Instead, use a simple past tense such as "killed". For instance, instead of "The poison "would have killed" him," say "The poison killed him."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "would have killed" functions as a modal perfect conditional, expressing a hypothetical outcome in the past. It indicates that a particular action or event could have resulted in death, but did not. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's grammatically correct and commonly used.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

85%

Science

5%

Formal & Business

3%

Less common in

Wiki

2%

Academia

2%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "would have killed" is a common and grammatically correct way to express a hypothetical situation where death was a potential outcome. Ludwig AI confirms its usability and correctness. Primarily found in News & Media, it serves to emphasize the near-fatal consequences of a specific scenario. While "would have killed" is generally appropriate for neutral contexts, more formal situations may benefit from alternative phrasing like "would have resulted in death". Be mindful to avoid tense errors by reserving this phrase for hypothetical past events, not actual occurrences. The phrase's high frequency across authoritative sources underscores its acceptance in standard English usage.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

could have killed

Expresses possibility rather than certainty of a fatal outcome.

might have killed

Similar to 'could have', indicating a possibility with slightly less emphasis on certainty.

would have resulted in death

A more formal and descriptive way of expressing a fatal outcome.

would have been fatal

Focuses on the quality of being deadly or causing death.

would have caused death

Directly states the action would have led to death.

would have ended their life

Emphasizes the ending of someone's life as a result.

would have taken their life

Focuses on the act of taking a life.

would have led to a fatality

Highlights the resulting incident as a fatality.

would have been the death of

An idiomatic way of saying something would have caused death.

would have extinguished

A more metaphorical way of expressing the end of life.

FAQs

How can I use "would have killed" in a sentence?

Use "would have killed" to describe a past hypothetical scenario where something almost caused death but didn't. Example: "The fall "would have killed" him if he hadn't landed on the soft ground."

What phrases are similar to "would have killed"?

Similar phrases include "could have killed", "might have killed", or "would have resulted in death", depending on the nuance you want to convey.

Is it correct to say "would of killed" instead of "would have killed"?

No, "would of killed" is grammatically incorrect. The correct form is "would have killed". The contraction "would've" can be used in informal contexts.

What's the difference between "would have killed" and "killed"?

"Killed" indicates a completed action resulting in death, while "would have killed" describes a hypothetical situation where death was a potential outcome but did not occur. For example, "The accident killed three people" versus "The accident "would have killed" him if he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt."